A LANARKSHIRE construction company has declared it has become the first carbon neutral business in its sector after investing heavily in a renewable power source.
BHC, a steel fabricator which employs more than 300 staff on projects around Scotland, has built a biomass power facility to meet all of its heating needs.
It is part of a £1.2 million investment made by the company, £900,000 of which has come in the shape of loan support from Royal Bank of Scotland.
The funding will also be used to acquire new cranes to help the company expand across the UK and into Europe.
The biomass facility, due to go live later this month, is expected to be followed by further investment in a wind turbine later this year, which will generate all of the electricity requirements for its Carnwath base.
BHC, founded as Brian Hewitt Construction in 1992, serves clients across the transport, oil and gas and agriculture sectors, with recent projects including work on a training ground for Manchester City football club. It is currently involved in the Laggan Tomore project, designing and building structural steel facilities to support extraction work in the gas field north of Shetland.
Chief executive Brian Hewitt said: "We are really committed to investing in this business, both infrastructure and people, to ensure we continue to grow.
"While becoming a carbon neutral business is an exciting prospect for us, it is also a sensible commercial decision."
BHC made profits of £2.5 million on turnover of £43m in its last financial year.
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